Attachment device for converting a bumper lift jack to a hoist



Filed Feb. 18, 1957 J. C. ACKLIN ATTACHMENT DEVICE FOR CONVERTI LIFT JACK TO A HOIST Dec. 12, 1961 ATTORNEY ttes Pate ice 3,012,755 ATTACHMENT DEVICE FOR "CONVERTING A BUMPER LIFT JACK T A HUIST Johneil C. Aclilin, 118 Laurel Ave., South Pittsburg, Tenn. Filed Feb. 18, 1957, Ser. No. 640,960 1 Claim. (Cl. 254-1) This invention relates to an attachment device for converting a bumper lift jack to a hoist, and has for an object to provide an attachment device which can be added to a conventional bumper lift jack so that it may be converted for use as a hoist, thereby enabling a bumper lift jack, together with the attachment device of this invention to be operated as a hoist for lifting any heavy object.

A further object of this invention is to enable a bumper lift jack to be used for hoisting from one level to another level, for loading or unloading heavy materials and in general for greatly enlargening the use of a bumper jack.

In addition to its use as a hoist, the bumper jack used with this invention in a horizontal position may be used to tighten or stretch fence wire, ropes, cables, and many other materials.

Still a further object of this invention is to enable a bumper lift jack to be used as a garage tool enabling any heavy load to be lifted, such as lifting the automobile motor out of the chassis of the automobile, and for other hoist purposes.

In brief, this invention contemplates taking an ordinary bumper lift jack7 adding an attachment to the end of the rack shaft of the lift jack so that a cable may be readily attached thereto, and similarly adding another part of the attachment to the lift tongue of the jack enabling another cable to be attached thereto, whereupon when one cable is suspended from any convenient overhead support, the other cable may be used for lifting any heavy object.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a phantom elevation of a bumper Ilift jack to which this invention has been applied.

FlG. 2 is a section on line 2-2 showing the lift tongue cable attachment.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the rack shaft cable attachment.

FIG. 4 is a top view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one form of hook ring used on the lift tongue attachment.

FIG. 6 is a similar view of another form of hook ring.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views of the two complementary housing parts of the lift tongue attachment.

FlG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of another form of rack shaft cable attachment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another housing attachment with a cable ring eye.

FIG. ll is a top plan view of one of the ratchet levers.

There is shown at 16 the conventional bumper lift jack with which this invention is intended to be used. The bumper lift jack is conventional and includes a rack shaft 12 supported in the conventional manner on the jack foot 1d and provided with a lift tongue 16 extending from the hollow supporting standard 18 actuated in the conventional manner by the jack lever 2t) to travel up or down the rack shaft 12 as determined by the setting of the direction control lever 22 which operates in a conventional manner for setting the pawls and ratchets within the supporting standard not shown for cooperation with the rack teeth 24 on the rack shaft 12.

There is shown at 26 the rack shaft cable attachment of this device consisting of a somewhat hollow cylindrical housing 28 of a size that it can slide or extend down over the top of the rack shaft 12. Extending partly across the opening through which the rack shaft may extend at the top of the housing 28 is a ange 30 against the bottom of which is biased a coil spring 32, the bottom end of the coil spring 32 being biased against a ratchet lever 34 which has an opening 36 therethrough, a inger 38 being fulcrumed in an aperture 39 on one side of the housing 28 while a ratchet lever handle 40 is moveable Within an axially extending slot 42 on the opposite side of the housing. ri`he opening 36 in .the ratchet lever 34 is of such shape that when the ratchet lever 34 is lifted by its handle 40 up the slot 42 to bring it to a position at right angles to the rack shaft 12 against the force of the coil spring 32, it may move easily up or down over the rack shaft 12, but when it is pressed down by the coil spring 32, it ratchets or binds the rack shaft 12 to make the housing immoveable therealong.

Below the end of the slot 42, a pair of set screws 44.

extending through opposite sides of the housing 28 provide a base against which a washer 46 is biased by another coil spring 48 biased downwardly against another ratchet lever Sli substantially identical in construction and operation with the ratchet lever 34, having a handle 52 moveable in a slot 54 the other end being fulcrumed through an aperture 56 in the housing 28.

Securely mounted on the housing 28 as oy welding or otherwise is a cable attaching eye 58 here being shown as being iu the form of a hook 60 to which may be attached a suspending cable 62, it being understood that the term cable includes a wire rope, a chain, `or any other similar but strong exible suspending member performing the function of a cable.

To rmly secure the cable hook 6d to the rack shaft 12, the handles 40 and 52 of both lever ratchets are pressed upwardly to a position parallel to each other, thus placing their openings therethrough in a position to slide easily up or down the rack shaft 12, and when the lever handles 4G and 52 are released the coil springs move them to the ratcheting or binding position on the rack shaft 12. Obviously, the hook 6G on eye 58 may be closed to a ring if desired such as shown at 64 in a modified form of housing 66, another modification of the housing being shown at 68 with an eye in the form of a hook I'70. Either housing 66 or 68 is secured to the rack shaft 72 by inserting a pin 74 through apertures 76 in opposite sides of housing 66 and 68 and through an appropriate aperture 78 in the upper end of the rack shaft 72.

The lift tongue cable attachment device of this invention for cooperating with the lift tongue 16 of the bumper lift jack 10 is shown at 80 in FIGS. 1 and 2, and in FIGS. 7 and 8 as consisting of two complementary housing parts 82 and 84, so shaped as to it on opposite sides and across the* top of the lift tongue 16 and to embrace the hollow standard 18 of the lift tongue 16.

Housing part 82 has a vertically extending semi-cylindrical end 86 from which extends a side wall 88 ending in a reduced finger 90 and provided with a horizontally extending top wall portion 92 on `one side of a recess 94 in the upper edge ofthe side wall 88.

The other housing part 84 has a similar semi-cylindrical vertical end wall 96 from which extends a vertical wall 98 at the end of which there extends a second vertical wall 100, the second vertical wall 100 being at right angles to the vertical wall 98 and being provided with a plurality of vertical slots 102 of a size that any one of the slots 102 can cooperate with and receive the finger 90 of the other housing part 82.

The upper edge of the vertical wall 98 is also provided 3 with a recess 104 similar to the recess 94 and spaced from its cylindrical vertical wall 96 the same distance that the recess 94- is spaced from its cylindrical wall 86. Between the recess 104 and the vertical cylindrical wall 96 there is provided a horizontal wall 1116y similar to horizontal wall 92 of the other part.

Arranged to extend over the two-part complementary housing 2 in assembled position is a squared hook ring 108 which may be provided with an eye in a form of a hook 110 or a ring 112 to which may be secured a hook 114 of a cable 116 for supporting or lifting any desired weight or object. To assemble the housing 82, it is placed over and on opposite sides of the lift tongue 16 and the linger 90 is extended through the appropriate slot 162, and then both parts are moved toward each other on opposite sides of the lift tongue 16. In this position, the hook. ring 16S is passed thereover and dropped into the aligned recesses 94 and 1114 between the horizontal walls 92 and 106. The squared hook ring 108 thus serves to hold the housing in assembled position, the recesses prevent the hool; ring 19S from slipping off the lift tongue 1-5 should there be any tilting thereof, and provides a rm support for the cable 116.

In operation, the rack shaft cable attachment housing 28, 66, or 68 is appropriately attached to the upper part of the rack shaft, the lift tongue cable attachment is assembled as just described by engaging the finger of one part in the slot of the other part and embracing the parts about the tongue 16 then placing the hook ring 168 thereover whereupon the cable 116 may be secured by means of its hook 114.

To operate as a hoist, the upper cable 62 is supported on any suitable supporting beam or overhead support, the cable 115 is passed about the object to be lifted, and the jaclt lever 2G is operated in the usual manner to cause the lift tongue 16 to travel up the rack shaft 12. To lower the object, the direction lever 22 is reversed and then the jack lever 26 operated normally to lower the lift tongue and supported object. It may obviously be used for stretching fence wire in a horizontal manner with one cable secured to one portion of the fence wire and the other cable secured to the other portion of the fence wire.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

In an attachment device for converting a conventional bumper lift jack to a hoist without modifying the jack, the jack having a rack and a rack shaft and a lift tongue supporting standard operable therealong; said attachment device comprising a manually attachable means for securing a cable to the rack shaft, said rack shaft cable securing means comprising a hollow housing having cable securing means extending therefrom, said hollow housing being extendable over the rack of the rack shaft, and manually operable releasable means for securing said housing to the rack of said rack shaft comprising ratchet means in said housing, yieldable means in said housing biasing said ratchet means into holding engagement with the rack of said rack shaft, and manually operable means for disengaging said ratchet means from said raclt of said rack shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STA'IES PATENTS 964,594 Wilernan et al. July 19, 1910 1,127,987 Green Feb. 9, 1915 1,465,895 Daniels Aug. 21, 1923 2,279,237 Kellems et al Apr. 7, 1942 2,470,018 Cofng May 10, 1949 2,536,550 Hughes 1an. 2, 1951 

